You could charter a sailboat in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), do the usual round of islands and bars, and come home rested, tanned, and filled with stories and a phone full of selfies. What if there were an easy and affordable way to make the trip more memorable?
Turn your BVI charter into a treasure quest to make your sailing escape more meaningful and fun.
Captain Deborah “Debs” Lewis, who’s lived on Tortola for 23 years, co-created Pirates & Ports, a self-guided, pirate-narrated audio adventure that turns a BVI bareboat charter into a search for treasure, complete with a 50-question crew quiz and history at the classic stops such as Norman Island Caves, The Baths, Soggy Dollar, Willy T, and more.
Capt. Debs and her husband, who run day trips for snorkeling out of Tortola on a 26-foot boat, had a then-12-year-old daughter who was into pirates and treasure. They discovered an app called Action Band.
Having already considered creating some sort of geocache game, Debs thought, “Wouldn’t it be fun to create a scavenger hunt? Especially in a place where that really happened, where there are lots of cool stories.”
Debs (who hails originally from England) and her sister, Alba, spent nearly two years compiling the information for the interactive game, now set up with a pirate voice telling the stories. They’ve also included quizzes and brainteasers to make the game more fun and challenging.
“This is for all ages, family travelers, or adult cruisers who want to learn more,” says Capt. Debs. “You might pull up to Norman Island, for example, and learn a bit more about it... It’s better than just going to the Willy T to drink.”
The game includes the five main islands in the BVI and 50-question quizzes and information about all the cool stops around those islands. There’s also a leaderboard on the app so that sailors can’t cheat.
Among the destinations included, treasure hunters will find history and quizzes about the following:
- Norman Island Overview, Willy T, the Treasure Caves, and The Indians
- Peter Island Overview, Dead Man’s Bay, and Peter Island Resort
- Dead Chest Island
- Salt Island and the Wreck of the RMS Rhone
- Cooper Island
- Ginger Island
- Fallen Jerusalem
- Virgin Gorda Overview, the Baths, Coppermine, Bitter End Yacht Club, Leverick Bay, Spanish Town, Oil Nut Bay, North Sound, and Prickly Pear
- Saba Rock
- Anegada Overview, Cow Wreck Beach, Loblolly Bay, and Conch Island
- Great Camande, Diamond Reef
- Scrub Island Marriott Resort
- Marina Cay
- Jost Van Dyke Overview, Foxy’s Restaurant, and Sydney’s Peace and Love Restaurant and Bar, and Soggy Dollar Bar, White Bay
- Bline Beach Bar, Little Jost Van Dyke
- Sandy Spit
- Sandy Cay
- Tortola Overview, Sage Mountain National Park, Cane Garden Bay, Callwood Rum Distillery, North Shore Shell Museum, Carrot Bay, Smuggler’s Cove, Soper’s Hole Marina, Mount Healthy
- Trellis Bay and Bellamy Cay
Note to sailors: When Capt. Debs says this game is pirate-narrated, she’s not kidding. Get ready to slip into your most serious pirate persona and ye mateys and skallywags will enjoy yerselves!
If you’re ready for a fun adventure with your family or flotilla mates, click to viator.com and search for “Pirates and Ports, a Self-Guided Adventure for Sailors in the BVI” ($59.99). Send photos of your BVI adventure to [email protected].
